


Something you were good at

by capeofstorm



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-09
Updated: 2012-07-09
Packaged: 2017-11-09 12:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/455521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capeofstorm/pseuds/capeofstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cho's feelings change after a Quittich match draw. What is it about Ginny Weasley that makes her so curious?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something you were good at

It started oddly enough. The Quidditch match ended in a draw, after Cho caught the snitch. The teams congratulated one another and disappeared back to the locker rooms, where their respective Captains gave them a dressing down.

“If you just waited,” Cho murmured to herself, pulling a face.

They would have lost, she knew that. Ginny Weasley, as much as Cho didn’t like her, was a brilliant Seeker. Cho had to make a snap second decision - going after the snitch and ending on a draw or letting Gryffindor win. It was an easy choice, but apparently her captain didn’t think so. He could kiss her ass.

It seemed that most of her teammates decided to drown themselves in the showers, occupying all the stalls. Cho tsked and decided to use the Hufflepuff locker room showers. It was guaranteed to be empty.

She made her way to the locker room, her clothes and a towel slung over her shoulders. She was ready for some relaxation. Her muscles started screaming in pain from spending hours on an uncomfortable broom. She didn’t care what Davies said, cushioning charms didn’t make it any better.

She opened the door to the Hufflepuff locker room only to be greeted with the sight of Ginny Weasley undoing her Quidditch robes.

“Oh, sorry, I had no idea anyone would be here,” she said as she moved to get out of there.

Ginny turned to look at her.

“It’s fine. Come on in, plenty space for the two of us.”

Cho smiled awkwardly and closed the door behind her. She moved to one of the benches and left her change of clothes on it. She started undoing her uniform, her eyes firmly on the wall in front of her.

“Davies chewed you out for the catch yet? It was quite brilliant, by the way.”

Cho startled at Ginny’s voice. She turned around to look at the red head who sat on the bench to take off her knee high boots.

“Thank you. Yes, he did, quite thoroughly. Bell did the same to you, I presume?”

Ginny nodded and moved to undo her undershirt. Cho turned away, busying herself with her own uniform.

“She did. Said that if it was Harry up there instead of me, you’d never even notice the snitch; you’d be too busy staring at him.”

Cho dropped her boot on the floor, the clang of it echoing loudly through the locker room. Ginny looked up at her and noticed her expression.

“Sorry, that was uncalled for.”

Cho nodded her head.

“Right,” she muttered and took off her trousers.

She left her shirt on, her towel slung around her hips and moved towards the showers. Ginny’s hand shot out and clamped around her arm.

“Sorry, Chang, that was out of line.”

Cho turned to look at Ginny, her eyes lingering on Ginny’s hand.

“It was but it doesn’t matter. Now if you’d be so kind, I need to shower.”

Ginny let her go, her expression one that Cho couldn’t quite figure out. She gave up doing that as she stepped under the shower. She closed the curtains around her, slung the towel over the pipes and undressed, throwing her clothes outside of the curtain. She started the water, sighing softly as it reached the perfect temperature for her. She stood under the stream, letting it soak her hair and cascade down her body, relaxing her tired muscles.

She rested her palms on the wall in front of her, bowing her body so that the water would flow over her back. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of water on her skin, refusing to think of the match or Ginny’s comment.

She didn’t know how long she spent just standing under the stream of warm water before she decided to get on with it. The match ended in a draw, which was good compared to the other possibility. If Davies wanted to get annoyed over that, it was his choice. She did her damn job.

She poured a bit of shampoo in her hands and lathered it before she started washing her hair. For some reason, washing her hair and body always calmed her down, grounded her.

Cho honestly didn’t expect Ginny to be there still. She came out of the shower wrapped in her towel only to discover Ginny sitting at her bench, her wet hair in a French braid. She startled, half thinking of grabbing her clothes and dressing in the stalls, half defiant. A single look from Ginny made up her mind.

She moved towards her clothes and started putting them on awkwardly, the towel getting in the way, the clothes sticking to her still damp skin. She gave up when her trousers stuck to her legs uncomfortably and pulled out her wand, casting a drying charm on her body. She finished dressing and turned to see if Ginny was still there.

She was.

Not knowing what to do, she moved towards the mirrors, bent on fixing her hair. She transfigured her towel into a brush and started brushing her hair, yanking at the knots.

“You’ll tear out your hair if you keep doing that. Let me help,” Ginny offered.

Frankly, Cho wanted to tell her to go to hell. But somehow her fingers loosened their hold on the brush and handed it to Ginny who stood behind her. She felt Ginny’s fingers run through her hair, teasing the knots out gently.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have repeated what Katie said,” Ginny said softly.

“Don’t mention it.”

They stood in silence as Ginny worked on her hair. After she teased out the knots and brushed it out, Ginny braided Cho’s hair, her fingers caressing her neck delicately with each crossed strand. Cho found herself curiously out of breath.

Ginny stepped away, smiling at Cho slightly through the mirror.

“There, it shouldn’t tangle as much now.”

“Thank you,” Cho said with a nod.

Ginny shrugged her arms and opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. She grabbed her things and left the locker room with a nod at Cho.

*

Cho started paying more attention to Ginny after that. She noticed her in the corridors in between classes, in the library, in the Great Hall. She started watching Ginny during the DA, often hoping for a chance of working with her that evening. She didn’t mind it when Ginny corrected her posture, her hands moving Cho in the right direction, angling her hips or steering her wand movement, her warm hand resting on Cho’s.

It wasn’t long after that when the dreams started. At first it was just a flash or two of red hair per night but soon the dreams expanded. Ginny was always there in her dreams, always saying something Cho couldn’t hear. She woke up disgruntled every morning, until she realised she no longer dreamed of Cedric. She cried at the realisation, both out of sadness and relief, which only made her feel worse. She started withdrawing into herself, no longer laughing and smiling as much, no longer the life of her friends’ group. She didn’t correct them when they blamed it on Cedric’s death. After all, who would have believed her after that disastrous date with Harry on Valentine’s?

*

Summer holidays came quicker than Cho expected. She packed her trunk and readied it for tomorrow’s trip. It was still light outside and she decided to go for a walk for the last time. She managed to shook Marietta off, claiming she was going to the library to do some studying. No one questioned the lack of her books.

She wandered down to the lake, grateful that most of the students were back in the castle, packing and saying goodbye to their friends. She needed the serenity of the lake, the calming sound of the waves lulling her into a sleepy state of mind. She was so seldom peaceful inside anymore.

She was jerked from her peaceful state by someone sitting next to her. She opened her eyes, frightened, only to see Ginny sitting beside her.

“Hi,” the red head said as she put her hair up in a pony tail, sighing at the feel of air on her damn neck.

“H-Hello, Ginny. You scared me.”

Ginny smiled at that.

“Sorry.”

They sat in silence for a while but this time it wasn’t as awkward as before. Cho started relaxing, letting her guard down when Ginny spoke.

“Do you have a problem with me, Cho?”

“What do you mean?”

“I caught you looking at me quite a few times,” Ginny explained, her eyes fixed on the rock she threw into the lake. It skimmed the water three times before sinking.

Cho cursed herself as she felt blush colour her cheeks. She felt Ginny look at her and saw the moment when she understood it.

“Oh. I - oh.”

“Yeah,” she muttered awkwardly.

“I had no idea you liked gi - “

“I don’t. It’s just you,” the words tumbled out of her mouth before she even had the chance to think them through.

“I... I see.”

Cho sat there, mortified. She didn’t know what to say or do. There she was, admitting to having a crush on the girl who was her main rival for Harry’s feelings. It felt like it had been ages since her crush on Harry, since Cedric, but it had barely been a year. She chanced a glance at Ginny, looking her over. She'd heard of the Ministry of Magic thing and she was glad to see Ginny was okay - at least outwardly.

“How are you, Ginny? After the Ministry, I mean.”

Ginny startled at that.

“You know, no-one actually asked me about that. I’m... I’m not sure how I am.”

“Will you be okay?”

Ginny nodded.

“Yeah, I always am, ” she said with a grim smile.

Cho didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing.

*

The first letter came in two weeks after Cho arrived home. She took it from the small, overeager owl and gave it a treat. She looked at the envelope with its unknown handwriting and wondered. She tore it open to discover a short letter from Ginny.

_Cho,_

_I just wanted to say thanks for being there for me that day at the lake. I really appreciate it._

_Cheers,_

_Ginny_

_PS Are your holidays as boring as mine?_

She stared at the letter, her hands straightening the wrinkled parchment. She sat back in her chair and looked at the small owl, which obviously was instructed to wait for a reply.

Cho took out a fresh parchment and wrote back.

*

The trip back to Hogwarts was a quiet one. She stayed in her compartment with Marietta - poor Marietta who hated Hermione Granger and couldn’t stop ranting about her. A few months ago Cho would have agreed with her on all accounts. Now she could just sit and nod, sit and nod and wish she was somewhere else. She looked outside the compartment and caught Harry’s eye by chance. She looked away quickly, unable to look at him. Not after the date; not after her feelings for Ginny grew throughout the summer.

They kept writing to one another over the summer. It started slow, short and awkward but with time it changed. They’d start with weather and niceties only to move on to write long letters filled with words, hopes and dreams. Cho told Ginny about her first time with Cedric, about the guilt she felt when she actually forgot the anniversary of his death; Ginny wrote about her first year in return, and her fear for the future. They never discussed Harry or Cho’s feelings.

Cho knew Ginny was going out with Dean Thomas since the summer. She spent the last few days preparing herself for that. But it still stung her when she saw Dean’s arm around Ginny’s shoulders, the way they leaned into one another spoke volumes of intimacy which she wanted to share with Ginny. She couldn’t bring herself to greet Ginny at the platform, choosing instead to hide in one of the compartments like the coward she was. She never claimed to be a Gryffindor anyway. She wasn’t brave enough to stand up for herself, wasn’t curageous enough to confront Ginny.

That’s why she didn’t say no to Michael Corner when he asked her out. She knew it would be a disaster - of course it would, she didn’t even like that boy - but she felt like she had to. She hoped it would help her get over this ridiculous thing - not even a thing! - she had with, no, for Ginny. But it didn’t help, quite the opposite.

*

It was the day before Christmas break and Cho decided she’d stay in the castle. She knew Ginny was going home - they still exchanged letters - and she could use some time alone as well. She didn’t want to spend another Christmas with her family, being reminded of Cedric and begged to move away, to visit her relatives in China and stay there, stay there until it calms down. She didn’t know what she wanted to do but she knew she wouldn’t be able to run away and stay in safety when people she cared about were fighting for their lives.

She spent the day in the library, sitting between History of Muggle Russia and Russian philosophy, knowing no-one ever came that way. She took out a book at random when she came into the library - turned out it was a collection of fairy tales about love. She snickered at that as she transfigured one of the chairs into a comfy settee and laid down on it. She took her hair tie out of her pocket and transfigured it in a blanket, covering herself. The library was quite drafty in December.

She was so lost in her book that she didn’t notice Ginny arrive at her spot. It wasn’t until Ginny cleared her throat that Cho looked up at her.

“Hello, Ginny.”

“Seems I found your favourite spot.”

Cho smiled at that and pulled her legs closer to her body, making space for Ginny to sit down. Ginny sat down, helping herself to the blanket, covering her lap and shoulders with it.

“It’s a peaceful spot, I’ll give you that, but it’s damn freezing,” Ginny whined.

“Hence the blanket,” Cho teased.

“Hece the blanket, yes. What are you reading?”

“Fairy tales,” she showed the cover to Ginny.

“Ah, love. I’ve never been good at it.”

“Me neither,” Cho sighed and looked at Ginny briefly.

They spent the rest of the evening sitting side by side, their arms pressed close as they read the fairy tales. They parted with smiles and promises of more letters throughout the holidays.

*

She was ecstatic about Gryffindor’s win. She managed to ask Ginny to meet her by the stairs leading to the Gryffindor Tower before the red head was swept in a celebration. She wanted to congratulate Ginny - she wanted to share this victory with her.

She waited by the stairs, her head snapping up as she heard someone coming down. She opened her mouth to shout a greeting to Ginny when she saw that the red head wasn’t alone.

She was with Harry. She was with Harry if the way they kissed, twined around one another, suggested anything.

Cho pressed her hand tightly against her mouth, hoping to hold in her sobs until she was out of Ginny’s ear shot.

*

Death Eaters infiltrated the castle. Dumbledore fell. She still couldn’t believe it, not even as she saw his broken body on the ground. It was Dumbledore, the mightiest wizard of their time. He was timeless, invincible. He was Dumbledore.

She saw Harry kneel by Dumbledore’s body, tears dripping down his cheeks. She saw Ginny walk up to him and take him to the infirmary. She just sat there where she stood, her legs folding underneath her as she cried. She felt Marietta’s arms go around her, cradling her and sobbing with her. She closed her eyes and hoped it was all just a bad dream, like the ones she used to have after Cedric’s death.

*

She saw Ginny after the funeral. She looked broken, empty and Cho guessed it had to do with Harry. She couldn’t bring herself to try and cheer Ginny up, not this time.

“I guess this is goodbye.”

“I will write to you, Cho.”

She shook her head.

“No, Ginny. Don’t, please. If you - if you have any feelings for me, let me go. Please, please let me go. I can’t do this anymore.”

“I never asked you to do it,” Ginny ground out, obviously angered.

“You never told me not to, either.”

She didn’t know how it happened but Ginny kissed her - an all too brief touch of dry lips, the smell of strawberries and then it was over. Ginny left before Cho even opened her eyes again.

*

After she graduated, her parents begged her to leave Britain.

“I don’t want you end up dying, like Cedric,” her mother cried.

Cho loved her mother, loved her even more for the fact that she loved Cedric. She was supportive of their relationship from the start. They both grieved him during that summer after the Triwizard Tournament, often meeting with Mrs. Diggory, reminiscing about Cedric, laughing and crying until it all blended together.

However, she hated the fact that her mother used Cedric’s memory to make her do something she didn’t want. It was the same after Cho told them she joined the Order of the Phoenix - her mother begged her to quit, her father stayed silent in support of his wife. She wouldn’t budge on that one, not that one. It was the only link she allowed herself to have with Ginny.

Cho took her mother’s hands in hers and squeezed them.

“Cedric died because he was unprepared. I am not,” she said as she dried he mother’s tears.

She did end up moving to Spain, but she stayed in contact with Kingsley Shacklebot. It was his patronus that informed her of the battle and she didn’t even have to think of it, Apparating on the spot.

She made it to the castle in the last few minutes, running into Neville. In the chaos of preparations, she offered to show Harry to the Ravenclaw common room only to have Ginny protest vehemently. All words died in her throat as she saw her, the red hair, the fiery stance, it brought back too many memories.

Luna took Harry to the Ravenclaw common room and Cho decided it was now or never. She grabbed Ginny’s arm and dragged her to one of the niches. Ginny looked angry, her eyes blazing; but she also looked uncomfortable and scared - and Cho knew that fear had nothing to do with the battle.

“Merlin damn it, Cho, not now!”

“If not then when, Ginny? We might not survive this,” she said calmly, so calmly.

Ginny whipped her head around, hear hair smacking Cho in the face.

“Don’t say that. Never say that!”

Cho let her hand fall to her side, her eyes firmly on Ginny.

“None of us knows, Ginny. And I can’t - I can’t. It’s been over a year and you’re the only person I can think about. Please, Ginny.”

Ginny closed her eyes, her body sagging in protest.

“Please, Cho...”

“What if... What if I were something you would have been good at, Ginny? What if we were something good?”

“It doesn’t matter. Harry's back.”

Cho felt like punching the wall. She balled her hands into tight fists, her nails digging into the delicate skin of her inner palms. She needed that pain to focus.

“Harry. Of course. It was always about him, wasn’t it?”

Ginny looked at her, her eyes dead.

“You know that already.”

Cho opened her mouth to say something but at that instant the castle shook and Ginny turned around to run and help. Cho stayed in the niche for a while, collecting herself and wiping the tears she didn’t know escaped her eyelids.

When it came down to it, she fought hard. She remembered every spell Harry taught her, every move Ginny corrected. She knew this was real, this was final, so she didn’t hesitate to mouth the Killing Curse at a Death Eater who was Crucioing a fifth year. His body fell on the ground with a thud and Cho’s tears finally dried up.

*

After the Battle she saw Ginny run into Harry’s arms, peppering kisses all over his face and her heart shattered for the last time. She turned away and offered to help with the wounded after Madame Pomphrey healed the wound on her neck, leaving only a long, angrily red scar behind.

It was rather fitting, Cho thought.


End file.
